Sunday, September 14, 2008

R.I.P. David Foster Wallace

At his little house one day after class, I confided in him that I saw myself as different from most people. In a mostly kind way, he responded that it was a weak thing to say. I have never forgotten the truth to which that spoke.

bfs - I became acquainted with David at Illinois State University about the time he was becoming interested in mathematics, specifically calculus, which would surface in his later writings. I'd been a math minor as an undergrad, so he asked me to teach him the fundamentals of calculus. He picked it right up (he was brilliant like that) and he insisted on paying me for my trouble (he was kind like that). He was one of my favorite teachers ever: informal, young, pop culture hip. Both students and faculty liked him.

I had a friend who was similar in many ways to DFW. Brilliant, funny and a totally unique way of viewing the world. Unfortunately, my friend succumbed to the same illness, in the same manner. It's sad.

I'm

An Other Blog

It sure hasn't been updated in a while, but why not visit A Blog Of Notes anyway? It's an audio blog where contributors post sounds that make musical notes--be they from a guitar or a microwave oven. It's weird.